Tagore once compared this in a poem: Dream is a wife who wants to talk, and sleep is a husband who suffers silently.
First of all, dreams are manifestations of the subconscious mind.
When Freud treated mental patients, he found that most patients talked about dreams; It is also found that patients often recall their dreams when they associate freely. Later, Freud began to analyze his dreams, trying to find some clues about subconscious activities from his dreams and patients' dreams. Through analysis, he found that dreams often repeat experiences long forgotten in childhood; Dreams often express unfulfilled wishes in daily life; Dreams often show some repressed needs. For this reason, Freud proposed that dreams are the only way to the subconscious.
What kind of sleep state do people dream about? Dreams are carried out under the condition of rapid eye movement sleep, and dreams can only be remembered when they wake up during eye movement; On the contrary, dreams in non-rapid eye movement sleep will not be remembered, and we will not realize it. When people sleep, the clarity of consciousness will decrease. When thoughts, memories and imaginations in daily life stimulate some parts of human cerebral cortex and leave traces, when these parts of human cerebral cortex remain excited during sleep, the traces left in daily life will become active and cause dreams, which is the existence of internal and external factors in human brain.
Freud compared the mind to an iceberg. A few of them surfaced, representing consciousness, while most of them were buried underwater. He believes that only a few people's words and deeds are controlled by consciousness, and most others are dominated by the subconscious. These subconscious information is hidden in the cerebral cortex, which will not be perceived when conscious, and it is difficult to extract.
Subconscious is a world composed of instinct, impulse, drive and physiological and mechanical reaction. The physiological functions of the human body need not be managed by consciousness. The body can breathe, the stomach can digest, the heart can beat, the pituitary gland can supervise the secretion of various hormones, and the immune system can automatically prevent bacteria and viruses from invading the body. All this is done by the subconscious mind. The subconscious is an infinite memory bank, which stores all the memories of a person's life, big and small. The subconscious is also the world of animals and instinct, the primitive and uncivilized part of human beings, and the source of crime and violence. The subconscious contains all the repression that is not accepted by the consciousness, thus forming phobias, compulsive thoughts and behaviors, delusions, hallucinations and nightmares. This part of the subconscious is not logical and rational, but in a strong, dynamic and secret posture, just like the high temperature and high pressure magma at the core of the earth surging day and night.
As an ardent believer in Darwin's theory of evolution, Freud firmly believed that man evolved from animals, so it was inevitable to bring something with animals. The so-called social existence of human beings only appears on the primitive basis of human beings, which is the result of the suppression of biological instinct with the continuous progress of social civilization. In Freud's view, the place where creatures stop is the place where people start. In Freud's study of dreams, he thinks that the repressed instinctive impulse is the real maker of dreams: it provides energy for dreams and takes the concept of lucid life as the material of dreams. The dream thus produced represents a situation of impulsive satisfaction, that is, the satisfaction of impulsive wishes. He once asserted: "Dreams are the satisfaction of (repressed) wishes (disguised). It can be seen that the composition of dreams, like the symptoms of neurosis, is the product of a compromise between some repressed impulse and resistance to self-examination. " Freud believed that "most symbols in dreams are symbols of sex.
In Adler's view, Freud attributed the background of dreams to sex and separated dreams from the usual efforts and activities of human beings. If this view is correct, then dreams are not a way to express the whole personality, but only a part of it. Freud's theory of using sex to explain dreams is not sufficient. What psychoanalysts ignore is the first requirement of scientific psychology-recognizing the consistency of personality and the consistency of individuals in various performances. Dreams have many meanings to express.
Jung thinks that dreams are the manifestation of subconscious wisdom, and his evaluation of the creative value of dreams is higher than Freud's. In jung's view, the subconscious is full of wisdom, just like Freud's view, the subconscious is full of desire. Jung also asserted that wisdom in the subconscious is more insightful than consciousness. In sleep, because of the release of depression, the wisdom in the subconscious can be expressed. He not only admits that dreams express past desires, but also emphasizes the function of dreams pointing to the future and foretelling the future.
Fromm believes that although people are active when they are awake, they can set goals, make plans and put them into action. On the other hand, due to various realistic considerations and interferences, we often unconsciously live in lies or fantasies, and live in mutual suspicion or hatred, while our correct judgment and feelings about love are suppressed. So, although we are awake when we are awake, from another perspective, we are confused. In the sleep state, we are free, no longer disturbed by all kinds of lies, and no longer driven by real interests, so it is possible to make more correct judgments. In other words, we may be smarter when we dream than when we wake up. Therefore, dreaming is another feeling of being awake. When I fell asleep, I woke up
Second, the role and function of dreams
If everyone spends one-third of his life sleeping, if he dies at the age of 70, he will sleep for about 27 years, and during these 27 years of sleep, he will dream for at least five or six years. Such a long dream time seems to be a waste of time. In fact, dreaming is a physiological need of healthy people and can play many positive roles. There are mainly the following points:
1, dreams contribute to people's health and brain function exercise.
Some cells in the human brain don't work when people are awake, and only when people are asleep do they start to move. If these cells are not used, they will tend to decline, so they need opportunities to "show" their functions, and this process produces dreams. The reason of dreaming is often the result of the external influence on the central nervous system during sleep. Dreams are caused by the work of some cortical cell groups that are not completely inhibited during sleep. During a night's sleep, people usually enter wonderful and colorful dreams from unconscious sleep for 2 ~ 6 times. At this stage of dreaming, the eyeball turns under the closed eyelids. At this time, the human brain is relatively static, but it is still moving. Fast and disorderly radio waves can be detected from the brain, and their intensity can sometimes exceed the intensity of daytime activities; There is a nerve center in the brain, whose function is to inhibit the muscle activity when people dream, so that the behavior in dreams will not go beyond the spiritual scope and become action.
Physiologists tell us that the process of excitation and inhibition of human cerebral cortex should always be in a relatively balanced state, and the alternating appearance of two sleep States is the result of constant adjustment. Deep dreamless sleep is an inhibitory process, which can make the brain have a full rest, replenish energy and relieve fatigue; Dreaming sleep is the excitement of a few cells in the cerebral cortex, which stimulates the brain rhythmically to maintain a certain level of excitement, thus playing a regulatory role in stabilizing the body. In this way, the level of excitement and inhibition of cerebral cortex is always in a relatively balanced physiological state, which is more conducive to work and study during the day.
German neuroscientist Coase? Professor huber believes that dreaming can exercise the function of the brain. The more creatures in the world dream, the more developed their brains are. Coase? Huber pointed out that some cells in the human brain do not play a great role when awake, but after sleep, these brain cells "exercise" and show excitement to improve their functions, so people dream. Scientists believe that people's intellectual potential is great. Generally speaking, less than a quarter is used, and the other three quarters are hidden in the unconscious. Dreaming is a typical unconscious activity. By dreaming, we can recombine our knowledge, reasonably combine new knowledge with old knowledge, arrange and reserve it, and finally store it in the warehouse of memory, so that knowledge can become our wisdom and talent.
Dreaming is a human physiological instinct. We don't have to be ecstatic because we had a beautiful dream, and we don't have to be depressed because we had a nightmare, because dreaming itself is good for people and sleep, unless you have a sleepless night. If so, you should see a doctor.
Dreams help us to know more about ourselves.
People can learn more about themselves through dreams. Dreams are "partial fragments" of a person's complete personality, which can make people realize some characteristics of their unconscious in a conscious state. The content of dreams can sometimes provide valuable information for their personality characteristics that they can't get during the day and learn more about themselves. For example, dreaming of an exam, being late, losing a test paper or being unable to write with a pen ... This dream is actually a psychological manifestation of the dreamer's frustration and inner anxiety in real life or work. During the day, the "objective self" may not realize it, but the inner "subjective self" reveals the secret through dreams.
3. Dreams can predict diseases.
In recent years, while exploring the mystery of dreams, some experts have found that dreams can predict many diseases. These dreams are called pathological dreams. As a dreamer, we should grasp the characteristics of pathological dreams and nip in the bud.
So, which dreams belong to pathological dreams? Expert research believes that:
(1) I often hear strange noises and sounds in my dreams, which is often a precursor to the auditory pathway or nearby arteriosclerosis; (2) When you meet a gangster or a beast in your dream, you can't scream if you want to, which often indicates that the coronary artery of the heart is not fully supplied; (3) Unstable gait, crooked or twisted body, accompanied by suffocation, often appearing in dreams, which may be a harbinger of angina pectoris; (4) In dreams, people often fall from tall buildings or cliffs, but they always wake up when they can't land, which may be a sign of latent heart disease; (5) In dreams, I often encounter myself dealing with fire, or being in a raging fire, and my mouth is dry, which often suggests that I may have high blood pressure; (6) When you meet yourself in a dream, you often deal with water, such as flooding, people drowning in it, and shouting for help, which may be a disease of the hepatobiliary system; (7) In dreams, people often kick you from behind or stab you with a knife, and you wake up. After waking up, they feel a dull pain in their kicked or stabbed waist, which often indicates that there are potential lesions in their waist and kidneys; (8) People who often dream that they are climbing, soaring and flying are the precursors of dizziness and headache. Wait a minute.
Psychologists call sick rational dreams "ominous dreams". This is because, in the early stage of the disease, the patient's body is busy with work and life during the day, and the external information and signals received by the body are complex and relatively strong, and there is no time to take into account the subtle physiological and pathological changes inside the body. After falling asleep at night, the weak stimulation of diseases in the body gradually turns into strong stimulation, involving the cerebral cortex, forming similar dreams. It can be seen that dreams can predict diseases for a certain reason. This requires people to be highly vigilant if they dream strange dreams for a long time, especially if they dream the same dream repeatedly. It can't be ruled out that this is a precursor of some kind of disease, and we must go to the hospital for a comprehensive examination.
4. Dreams can soothe people.
When people miss their hometown or relatives and feel heavy, dreams can soothe their hearts and make your mood more stable. For example, Jin Changxu's poem "Spring Hatred" in the Tang Dynasty is a concrete portrayal of the boudoir people missing their distant relatives. The poem reads: "Drive away the orioles and all the music on the trees; They woke her up when she dreamed that she went to meet him in Liaoxi camp. It means to knock down the orioles on the tree and don't let them keep singing on the branches; Because their crowing will wake up my dream, so that I can't see my husband in western Liaoning in my dream. This poem named "Spring Hatred" refers to in my heart forever's poem, which not only vividly reflects a woman's yearning for her husband who lives alone in an empty boudoir, but also shows that meeting her husband who has been in battle for many years through dreams can soothe her soul in dreams.
5. Dreams can protect people's sleep.
Dreams are produced when people sleep, but people often regard sleep without dreams as good sleep and think that dreaming is disturbing sleep. On the contrary, dreaming can sometimes "protect" sleep.
It can be said that almost everyone dreamed of eating and drinking Lazarus in dream of eating. As this kind of dream, it means that the person in the dream has an empty stomach, dry mouth or full rectum and bladder. These visceral stimuli enter the brain while sleeping. If they wake up and do this kind of thing, they will interrupt their sleep, so they will eat, drink or urinate in dream of eating, so that they can relieve the pressure of cortical cells on this stimulus without waking up and let their sleep continue. Isn't this to protect sleep?
However, this kind of protection is only available to adults with fully developed cortical cell activities, but not to immature children. After they sleep, the bladder expands, which stimulates the cerebral cortex cells, which react. They dream of urinating, and they really pee on the bed. The positive effect of dreams on sleep is far more than the above points. If there are no dreams in people's sleep, life will become lonely, just like there are no white clouds in the blue sky, no sails in the sea, no waterfalls in the mountains, no pastoral songs in the countryside ... how desolate the world will become. Yes, dreams are poets' daydreaming world and a paradise created by scientists. With dreams, life is more imaginative and creative.
6. Dreams contribute to people's creative thinking.
Freud said: "Dreams not only have the function of reproduction, but also have the function of innovation". Many scientists and inventors have many examples of great help from "dreams" in their arduous process of invention and creation, and many difficult problems are inspired or solved in dreams. For example,/kloc-the famous American inventor Hervey in the 9th century failed to design a sewing machine many times, and he thought hard all day and was anxious. Once in a dream, the king ordered him to stab him to death with a spear if he didn't build the sewing machine within 24 hours. He dreamed that when he was tortured, the spear went up and down and saw a small hole on the tip of the spear. He successfully moved the eye of the sewing needle from the root to the tip, and finally invented the sewing machine. German Nobel Prize winner Otto? Roy had a problem at work. He woke up in the middle of the night and jotted down a very strange idea to solve the problem in his dream. I woke up the next morning and forgot all my dreams. I can't read what I wrote after waking up in the middle of the night. It happened that he had the same dream again the next night. When he woke up, he wrote down the idea of his dream in detail. Later, through experiments, the results found in the dream were confirmed.
Since German chemist Hoffman discovered benzene in 1845, many chemists have racked their brains to decipher its molecular structure. However, at that time, humans never thought that a ring-shaped molecular structure was possible, so chemists ran into a wall and gave up. 1865 on a cold night, the chemist Auguste, who has been studying for many years, refused to stop? After a whole day of futile exploration, Kekule dozed off by the fire and fell asleep. Then, something strange happened. In his dream, he saw many atoms jumping in front of him. Among them, a group of atoms arranged in a long chain, twisted and coiled there, and then took a closer look. It's a snake biting its tail and spinning proudly in front of him! Like being struck by lightning, Kukari immediately woke up and realized that the molecular structure of benzene was a closed loop, which no one had thought of before. No wonder all the experts who studied it from the old viewpoint of openness and refinement were rejected. Since then, chemical research has entered a new milestone because of this revolutionary discovery. In the dream of seeing a snake bite its tail, Kukri realized the cyclic structure of benzene. At this time, we can say that he is connected to the higher subconscious.
American chemist Charles? Goodyear failed to study vulcanized rubber for many years. In his dream, he dreamed that a stranger told him to try adding some sulfur to the rubber. As a result, he discovered the vulcanization of rubber, thus solving the aging problem of rubber. Dr. Hu Qinxun of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom has made a survey of some modern scientists and found that 70% of professors have the experience of solving difficult problems in their dreams. Newton also claimed that he often found something in his dreams. Lu Jiaxi, former president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, also had the experience of solving difficult problems in dreams. When he was studying at Xiamen University, he couldn't even solve a calculus problem in advanced mathematics. An idea appeared in his dream, but he forgot when he woke up. He thought hard, tried to recall the solution in his dream and solved the problem. She Nan, a famous modern architect, once had the experience of designing in a dream. It is said that Guangzhou White Swan Hotel, which is full of Chinese style and wins by gardens, drew a sketch according to his dream design. There are countless examples of this.
Dream and art have also forged an indissoluble bond, especially in music and literary creation, many excellent artists have excellent dream talent, and dreams have become their inexhaustible creative source, giving them endless creative inspiration, making them unprecedented and unheard of, and creating shocking masterpieces. Schumann, a famous German composer, is a fantastic figure. He often dreams that many great composers, such as Schubert, came to his bedside. Haydn, Mozart and so on. They also use the unconscious to promote sleep to complete their creation. There are countless such examples, but the artistic creation value of dreams is clearly visible.
Scientific research shows that rapid eye movement dreaming sleep is beneficial to memory, can prevent the brain from forgetting new knowledge, and is helpful to people's creative thinking. In a survey, 5 1 of 69 mathematicians (accounting for 74%) thought that sleeping was helpful to solve difficulties. Here is a typical example that has been quoted countless times: Russian chemist Mendeleev pondered for three days and nights to prepare the periodic table of chemical elements, but he was puzzled, exhausted and fell asleep. Unexpectedly, he saw a relatively perfect periodic table in his dream, woke up in a hurry and recorded it. After finishing, the famous periodic table of chemical elements was born. No wonder Kekule, who discovered the chemical structure of benzene in his dream, shouted excitedly, "Gentlemen, let's learn to dream!"